September 01, 2012

Stephen McGee released to make room for a new tight end

Stephen McGee's stay on the 53-player roster lasted less than 24 hours. He was released Saturday morning, before practice, to make room for a tight end.

McGee tweeted of his departure soon after it was announced: "Thankful for my time in Dallas and the opportunity to meet many wonderful people. God is doing some cool things in this city. Press on."

The Cowboys initially -- and somewhat surprisingly -- kept McGee on the 53-player roster when final cuts were made at 8 p.m. Friday. But Dallas added a veteran tight end, former Bengal Colin Cochart, off waivers and needed McGee's roster spot Saturday.

Cochart was signed as insurance in case Jason Witten can't play Wednesday. Witten has a lacerated spleen, and although he returned to practice Saturday, he has not been cleared for contact. Cochart, who is 6-4, 258 pounds, joins Witten, John Phillips and rookie James Hanna in the team's tight ends room.

Cochart played in 10 games last season, with three starts, and made five catches for 44 yards and a touchdown. He also played in the Bengals' wild-card playoff game. Cochart, an undrafted free agent from South Dakota State, also played some special teams.

"We like Stephen; we like what he's done, and we evaluate the quarterback position," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said before McGee's release. "What we try to do is try and manage the roster as best we can. We want to keep good players, but at the same time we understand that we have to manage the different injury situations that we have particularly early on in the season. We're not unlike 31 other teams. Everybody is doing these kinds of things and how we make hard decisions."